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What it means for you
Get an idea of how the prices we're proposing in our 2025–30 pricing proposal may affect your water bill over the next 5 years. Have your say during the public consultation process conducted by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART).
Snapshot of the price proposal
Our 2025–30 price proposal outlines the services and increased costs that both residential and non-residential customers may expect from 1 July 2025. It includes:
- how you're charged for our services
- potential impacts to your bill
- our guaranteed service standards
- our impact on the environment
- creating cool, green landscapes for our communities
- improving the resilience of our water supply system.
There is no change in the way we charge residential customers. Customers had told us their preference was for the structure of their quarterly bill to stay the same. You'll continue to have fixed service charges, and you'll pay for the water you use.
You can view the full 2025–30 price proposal when you have your say.
Proposed water, wastewater and stormwater pricing
In the table below, we list the fixed service charges and water usage charges that apply to houses, flats, strata units, dual occupancies and mixed developments. Mixed developments are properties made up of residential units and shops.
The charges are what we've proposed to IPART for the next 5 years. However, what you see on your bill will likely be different. The charges will be adjusted each year for things like CPI and recovering any additional cost from the Sydney Desalination Plant.
Most customers have water and wastewater services, and some properties are in one of our stormwater areas. Check our stormwater catchment map to see if stormwater service charges apply to you. Our service charges (fixed charges) apply each quarter, but are calculated using a daily rate. The July and October quarters have 92 days, while the January quarter has 90 days and the April quarter has 91 days. The charges below are for the maximum 92-day quarter.
| Charge | 2024–25 | 2025–26 | 2026–27 | 2027–28 | 2028–29 | 2029–30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water usage^ | $2.67/kL | $3.12/kL | $3.12/kL | $3.12/kL | $3.12/kL | $3.12/kL |
| Water service | $16.90 a quarter | $21.48 a quarter | $35.66 a quarter | $50.82 a quarter | $67.47 a quarter | $85.29 a quarter |
| Wastewater service | $155.89 a quarter | $183.95 a quarter | $194.24 a quarter | $204.54 a quarter | $216.58 a quarter | $228.69 a quarter |
| Stormwater service – house | $22.23 a quarter | $26.23 a quarter | $29.52 a quarter | $33.13 a quarter | $37.38 a quarter | $42.07 a quarter |
| Stormwater service – unit or low impact | $7.11 a quarter | $8.19 a quarter | $9.21 a quarter | $10.34 a quarter | $11.67 a quarter | $13.13 a quarter |
^ If dam levels for Greater Sydney drop below 60%, the water usage charge will increase until dam levels are back over 70%. In 2024–25, the charge would go from $2.67 to $3.61/kL. For the 2025–30 period, the base water usage price (before yearly CPI) would go from $3.12 to $3.78/kL.
Changes for customers in Rouse Hill
Customers in Rouse Hill previously had a separate stormwater service charge. We're proposing customers in this catchment will now pay the same charge as all other declared stormwater areas.
The Rouse Hill land charge helps pay for the floodways and flood-prone land that became part of the stormwater drainage system. From 1 July 2025, this charge will be included as part of developer infrastructure charges. Applications for connection prior to 1 July 2025 will still pay the Rouse Hill land charge for 20 quarters (5 years) from the time of connection.
Some examples of bill increases
Here are some examples of typical current costs for residential customers and how they may change over the next 5 years based on our proposal. We used these residential customer descriptions during Our Water, Our Voice to help ensure we'd thought about all customer groups and they were taken into consideration. The figures in the table indicate prices for a whole year (in real 2025–26 terms).
Rose and her partner
Rose and her partner receive a pensioner rebate while living in a townhouse in Ryde. They have a small garden and are very low water users. On average, they use 137 litres per person per day, or 100 kL per year.
| 2024–25 | 2025–26 | 2026–27 | 2027–28 | 2028–29 | 2029–30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $365 | $435 | $465 | $498 | $543 | $584 |
Tim and Wendy
Tim and Wendy live in a small house in Dapto, and they are very mindful of water use. On average, they use 137 litres per person per day, or 100 kL per year.
| 2024–25 | 2025–26 | 2026–27 | 2027–28 | 2028–29 | 2029–30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $982 | $1,162 | $1,262 | $1,369 | $1,484 | $1,606 |
Tiffany and Ed
Tiffany and Ed are a young family living in a standard house with a backyard in Marrickville. They have a young child, so affordability is their number one priority. On average, they use 182 litres per person per day, or 200 kL per year. Tiffany and Ed represent the typical Sydney Water residential customer.
| 2024–25 | 2025–26 | 2026–27 | 2027–28 | 2028–29 | 2029–30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,257 | $1,484 | $1,584 | $1,691 | $1,805 | $1,928 |
The Baileys
The Baileys are a multigenerational family living in Fairfield. They have 6 people under one roof, making them high water users. On average, they use 183 litres per person per day, or 400 kL per year.
| 2024–25 | 2025–26 | 2026–27 | 2027–28 | 2028–29 | 2029–30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,533 | $1,805 | $1,905 | $2,012 | $2,127 | $2,249 |
Help to manage your bill
We're proposing the bill impact for a water and wastewater customer consuming 200 kL per year is an increase of 18% in 2025–26 followed by 6.8% every year for the remainder of the determination period. This is an average bill increase of approximately $226 in the first year, and $111 every year until 2029–30 (in real 2025–26 terms). We know this may cause payment difficulties for some of our customers. We have programs in place to assist them.
Our support falls into 2 main categories:
- empowering customers to save water and reduce their bills
- providing extra assistance to customers when they're in need.
Our support programs already exist and customers are using them. They can be scaled up to meet higher demand if and when that's needed.
If you'd like to know more, you can find a water saving program or get help to pay your water bill.